Mr Shields
by HannahWing
Summary: Serena hates her boss, Darien Shields and his snobby girlfriend Raye. So obviously she won't be happy when she finds out she has to go on an overnight business trip with him.
1. Who Doesn't Hate Their Boss?

Serena stared at her computer screen. It was still blank. It had been blank for over an hour. She was never going to make the deadline for her article. She bit down on her pen until the end of it snapped in her mouth.

"Faaaaaack." She threw the pen away and collapsed, letting her head thump hard on her computer keyboard.

Someone giggled behind her head, "Don't stress so much Serena, you'll get wrinkles." Mina was already closing up her laptop, ready to take off early.

Serena groaned in response. "Easy for you to say. You have that cushy job writing the relationship column."

"It's not easy, you know." She punctuated her statement with a chipper wink, "I just have a gift that makes it look easy."

Serena lifted her head and frowned at the infuriating empty document on her computer. "I'm going to get laid off if I don't make this. I know it."

"Hey, relax. You'll make your deadline. You always do." Mina swung her car keys around on her long, delicate finger, "Come on, it's Friday. Let's knock off and get some drinks."

Serena's mood picked up instantly, but she looked back to her computer. There had already been three journalists laid off that month already. She was hanging by a thread. And she just knew that Mr. Shields would love to cut that thread. He was such a phenomenal asshole.

She sighed, "I better stay."

"Suit yourself." Mina shrugged, "I'm off to do some field research." With one more wink, Mina was out the door, leaving Serena alone in the office, scrambling to get her article on Mr. Shields desk by Monday.

()()()()()()()()()

"You need to rewrite this."

Serena wanted to jump at him.

No, she wanted to storm out.

No, she wanted to tear the papers on his desk into tiny pieces.

No, she wanted to keep her job.

"What part of it needs to be rewritten?" She forced a smile onto her face. Mr. Shields gave her a look. Being phony was never one of her strong suits.

"The whole thing. It's just not up to the standard of this paper. I've made some notes for you to work from."

Serena snatched the paper from his hands, gritting her teeth and choking out the words, "Thank you. That was too kind of you."

"It wasn't kind of me. It's my job. Now go do yours."

She hated him, hated him, hated him, hated him, hated him, hated him with every fiber of her body.

It didn't take long for her to rewrite the article. It was amazing how motivated she could be when she got fired up and angry. Plus Mr. Shields notes had actually been pretty helpful.

She stopped that thought immediately and shook her head vigorously.

nope, nope, nope, nope. He was an asshole. An asshole and that's it. The finished article was entirely due to her own skills and gumption. That asshole never even did any real work. All he did was pick on the people going out into the wind and rain to get stories, then slave over hot computers for hours to craft them into perfect news articles.

He was an asshole. That was it.

She had gotten herself so fired up that she was already halfway through her next article; a recap of the grand opening for a new art gallery downtown. She didn't even notice that everyone had left for the night until someone shut the light off in the office.

She looked up, surprised. "Hey, what's up?!" She shouted into the darkness.

"What are you still doing here? Were you staring off into space and lost track of time again?"

That voice. That grating, derisive voice. Serena turned around ready to snap. It was okay if she throttled her boss as long as she wasn't on the clock, right?

The lights flicked back on so she could see his annoying face. She wished it was still dark. She didn't need to see that awful smirk.

"For your information, I was just putting the finishing touches on the art gallery story."

"Good." He didn't look the slightest bit interested in what she was saying, "Maybe you'll have it done on time for once."

She threw herself up from her desk. That was it. Time to really snap.

"Ready to go, babe?" A raven haired woman glided into the office. Mr. Shields kissed her on the cheek.

"Yeah, I was just finishing up with some things here."

Serena stared at the two of them. This was clearly his girlfriend. Maybe even his wife. She couldn't believe that someone could actually tolerate her boss long enough to be in a relationship with him. She could barely stand him for five minutes.

Clearly Mr. Shields thought that he needed to explain this silently fuming blonde to his girlfriend, so he said, "This is Serena. She covers current events."

"Oh," The woman looked down the bridge of her perky nose, "So that's the girl that's been giving you trouble."

Serena had seen that look before. It was the same smug, contemptuous look that she got from Mr. Shields. Suddenly she understood. They were perfect for each other. Both assholes.

"Yeah, I guess that's me." Serena tried to stare back with something that would make the couple feel as small as they made her feel. She puffed her chest, stuck out her lip and clapped her hands to her hips.

The woman turned away from her without a second glance. "We should get going, babe. You still haven't gotten everything packed for your trip."

Serena's ears perked up. "Trip?"

"Yes. I'm going to be away from the office for a few days this week to be at the political debate."

All Serena heard was the word _away_. She almost jumped for joy, "Well better get packing. Don't let me keep you! Bon voyage!"

The couple gave each other strange looks as they left the office with Serena waving manically at them.

She would have the rest of the week without looking at that face. She couldn't be happier.

()()()()()()()()()

"What are you doing here? I thought you had to be out of town for the debate." The words jumped out of her mouth before Serena could stop to censor her shock and disappointment at seeing Mr. Shields in the office.

He looked at her like she were either crazy or stupid. She hated when he did that. She wanted to sock the smugness off his face.

"Yes. Tomorrow." If Mr. Shields noticed her disappointment, he didn't care. "Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Serena didn't like where this was going. He continued, "I'm going to need you to come with me. Can you call ahead and book two hotel rooms at the Alpha Society Hotel for us?"

All of her muscles jerked forward so that she was leaning over his desk, practically in his face, "WHAT!?" She stopped, half-composed herself, "I mean, I don't even do political stuff. Why would you be asking me to come along?"

"Believe me, I don't want to be asking you..."

A growling rage started to slowly burn it's way through her, searing into her skin and forming an angry blush on her cheeks.

"...but you know we've had a lot of layoffs lately and you're the only person I can spare around here right now."

"Fine. Great. I'm looking forward to it." Serena got up and stomped out.

"Hey Mina," She called over, "You want to blow off early tonight and do some, 'field research'?"

Mina looked up from her laptop, a reckless smile spread across her face. "On a Monday night? Of course!"

* * *

_AN: I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter. This is just a fun little story that I'm working on because I wanted to try writing something lighter and more comedic than what I have done so far. Let me know what you think about it! :)_


	2. Bad to Worse

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" Serena dragged herself around her apartment, slowly throwing items into a suitcase. She was running late, but she couldn't push herself to hurry. She wanted to drag out every second before she was locked into a car for three hours with _that man_.

I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. "I HATE HIM!"

This trip was going to be torture.

She was able to throw a few decent outfits into her bag and gulp down a bite of breakfast before she heard a honk outside. She braced herself. _Here we go._

"Good Morning." Mr. Shields greeted as she slid into the passenger's side of his car. She was surprised that he drove something so sporty. '_I guess you need comfy leather seats when you have a stick up your ass.'_

"Yeah. Morning." She replied, short and dry.

He was dressed casually, not at all the way he appeared at the office. He looked strange wearing a t-shirt and jeans, like he was so uptight that casual clothes just sat awkwardly over his body.

"I got you a coffee." He gestured to the cup holder, "One of those raspberry mocha things you drink."

Serena looked at the take-out mug in surprise, "How did you know?"

"You bring them to work every morning." He raised an eyebrow and looked at her like this information should be obvious.

Despite the thoughtful gesture, she was tempted to call him a stalker under her breath, but changed her mind and just said, "Thanks."

'_If he doesn't open his mouth again, this trip might not be so bad.'_

"So what made you think you would be good at journalism?"

'_seriously?'_

"Writing classes were always my best classes in school." She said defensively.

"Yikes! I'd hate to see your marks in your other classes."

"Well at least I'm not an arrogant jerk!"

He stared at her.

Cold horror washed through her. "...Did I just say that out loud?"

He continued to stare blankly, then the corners of his mouth started to tremble and he burst into laughter. It was a sound she had never heard before. His laughter came from somewhere deep inside his stomach and poured out through his mouth, filling the air around her. It was one of those beautiful, genuine laughs that make you want to laugh along with it, even if you don't know why.

After a solid minute of laughing, he wiped tears from his eyes and said, "Well at least now I know what you think of me." The last remnants of a chuckle spilled passed his lips, "Although I was pretty sure already."

Serena sat gaping in embarrassment. Even when she was insulting him, she was the one who felt stupid.

"But really, what made you want to be a journalist?" He asked again.

"I don't know…" She struggled to regain her cool, "I just love telling a story. One day I'm going to move on from this paper and do something big like covering celebrity stories."

The corners of his mouth dipped. Serena mentally dared him to make a snide remark, but all he said was, "Well I'm glad you stopped by our little paper on your journey to glory."

"Just what is that supposed to mean, Mr. Shields?"

"What do you mean 'what's that supposed to mean'?" He sounded annoyed, "It means exactly what I said. Jeez you read too much into everything."

Serena huffed, "Well that's what makes me such a good journalist, isn't it?"

He laughed again. Not as long, or as hard, but a deep laugh that tickled Serena's ears when she heard it.

"And jezus, call me Darien, please."

The car ride wasn't half as bad as she expected it would be. Mr. Shields was a pompous asshole, but she might actually be able to tolerate Darien. He was still serious and even pretty arrogant, but something about him seemed… easier than the guy he was at work.

Once they had arrived in the city, Darien started barking orders about what he expected her to do for the interviews that afternoon and he seemed an awful lot like Mr. Shields. She sighed. Of course the change in persona was too good to be true.

The day scraped along painfully, Mr. Shield's voice a constant buzz in her ear. Nothing she did was ever right. After every interview he chewed her out for asking the wrong questions, or asking too many questions, or not asking enough questions, or just to hear his own stupid voice.

She was exhausted by the time they finished the interviews at 8 p.m. Her feet ached, her brain was mush and she couldn't stand to be around Mr. Shields for one more second. He had fully returned to his asshole self and every nice she'd thought about him that morning had totally disappeared. He was just an asshole.

She could hardly make it to the front desk of the hotel without collapsing. Mr. Shields walked up coolly, and said to the receptionist, "I have a reservation under Darien Shields."

The woman's fingers clicked away on the keyboard and she looked up, frowning, "I'm sorry, Sir, we don't have any rooms under that name."

His face fell. He licked his lips nervously, "Do you have any reservations under Serena Tsukino?"

The receptionist made a few more clicks on her keyboard and came back frowning again, "I'm sorry, we don't have any reservations under that name either."

He turned. Slowly. Stone face. And looked at Serena, "Did you make the reservations as I requested?"

Serena stared back with anger fueled by exhaustion, "Uh, did you ask me to?"

Mr. Shields looked like he was going to break, "Yes. I did."

"Okay, big whoop, so I forgot. I'm sure they have rooms." She walked up to the desk to take care of things herself.

The receptionists frown deepened, "I'm sorry, I'm afraid we're all booked up." Serena was getting pretty sick of hearing this woman say 'sorry.' She continued, "There's the football game this weekend as well as the political debate and we really have no vacancies whatsoever."

"So what are we supposed to do?" That bitchy boss had never sounded so angry, "Sleep in our car?"

The receptionist cut in quickly, "I can call around and see if any other hotels in the city have vacancies."

The woman disappeared quickly, probably to avoid Mr. Shield's temper. His glare burned into Serena. She glared back with a face that said, _so what?_

The receptionist returned, "There's only one available room in the city."

"Well one won't do." Mr. Shields spat back. "We need two rooms."

"Sir, I'm telling you that there is only one. It's at the Waterfront Inn downtown. They said that they will hold the room for you for twenty minutes." The woman's tone said that she wasn't going to take anything more from the crotchety pair.

He sighed, "Come on. Let's go."

Serena followed him back to the car. He slammed the door on his side. She was exhausted. She ached. All she wanted was to relax in a hot bath and now this father of all assholes was treating her like crap.

"What was that?" She snapped.

"What?"

"The way you spoke to me back there."

"Oh, was that a surprise to you? I would have thought with how incompetent you are, you'd be used to people being pissed off at you." He shouted. Serena had never heard him raise his voice before. She was so angry, she couldn't even think of words to express it. She didn't know what to do. Suddenly her eyes were wet. Then her cheeks were wet. Then she was crying.

"Oh, crap," Mr. Shields glanced away from the road to look at her, "Look, I'm sorry."

She turned away from him, staring out the window, trying to swallow her light sobs.

"I was an asshole okay? I was pissed off, but that's no excuse for what I said to you."

Serena sniffed, "It's how you always talk to me." She turned to see a stab of hurt in his eyes.

"hey, don't say that."

"It's true." She felt a choke in her throat, "You always talk to me like I'm an idiot or a… a child."

"I… " Darien looked back to the road and tightened his hands around the steering wheel, "... I'm sorry."

They checked into the Waterfront Inn without saying a word to one another. They carried their bags up to the single room. Inside there was just one queen sized bed.

"You can have the bed." Darien said, quietly.

* * *

**AN: Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews on my last chapter. I'm so happy to hear that people are reading and enjoying my story! :) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, there's more to come!**


	3. Truce

Serena sat up groggily. Dust moats swirled in the pale light coming in through the curtains. She took a minute to register where she was. Then she saw Darien curled up on the couch.

Curled was the key word. The small hotel couch was a few inches too short for him, so he had to bend his legs to fit. His chest rose and fell softly under his white t-shirt. His face was nicer when he was asleep, Serena thought. When he was awake, he was such a dick that you couldn't tell that he was actually handsome. But right now his mouth was shut, and that awful pinched look in his eyebrows was softer. She could look at him without worrying if he was going to snap or say something rude.

Serena looked at the clock. 6:00 a.m. They still had two hours before their first interview of the day. Her head collapsed back into the plush pillow. She closed her eyes and lay there. She rolled over. Then she sat up with a sigh. She wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep.

She reached for her laptop and started typing up some of the material from the day before. She might as well get some work done if she wasn't going to sleep.

The clock read 6:47 when Darien started to shift on the couch. Serena looked up. She had almost forgotten he was there. His face looked like he was just as surprised to see her. He looked around the room, dazed with sleep. Then he looked back to Serena.

"Morning." He said, not entirely hiding his sheepishness. He wasn't the kind of guy who liked to be caught sleeping.

"Good Morning." Serena said. She wasn't sure how she wanted to deal with him after last night. He had been awful to embarrass her in public, but he had apologized and she knew, or wanted to believe, that he meant it.

He looked at the clock. "Have you eaten yet?" His voice was dark and heavy with sleep.

"I was just working with some of the material we got yesterday." She said, closing her laptop.

His eyebrows jumped a half a millimeter, "You're working hard. Let me take you out for breakfast."

He caught her off guard. Was this another apology? It would take a lot more than small gestures for her to forget how he constantly belittled her, undermining her confidence. That would need entire personality overhaul. But if he was going to make an effort then she was willing to give him a chance, and hope he didn't blow it again.

"I just need a few minutes to get ready." Serena took her suitcase into the bathroom. Everything else aside, she had never said no to free food before.

()()()()()

His entire approach changed. He let her lead more of the interviews. Afterwards Serena always saw him bite softly on his lip— holding back what might otherwise come out as a rude comment.

Serena was wary of this new Mr. Shields— or Darien as he asked to be called. He was being more thoughtful and respectful and all around less of an ass, but he was just so different. She had no idea how to deal with him because no matter how nice he was being, It was hard to let her guard down around someone who had made her feel so awful just days before.

"Let's call it a day." He said at 6:00 pm. "I'm tired and you're hungry. I'll find somewhere for us to get dinner."

Serena's stomach growled. Darien really did know how to get on her good side.

()()()()()

Darien pushed his food around on his plate, "I should apologize." He said, looking down at the table and avoiding Serena's eyes.

Serena's eyebrows snapped up, she quickly tried to recover a cool expression. "Oh? What for?"

"For everything." Darien sighed, sat back in his chair and looked Serena in the eye, "I've been a jerk to you."

Serena blinked. Nothing had prepared her for this. What were people supposed to say in this situation? _Yes, you're a jerk. Thank you for acknowledging it?_

"Well, yeah, you kind of have." She said.

"I didn't mean—" He fiddled with a fork on the table, "I mean, I didn't want to make you feel like crap, but I'm sure I did."

Serena nodded softly, holding his gaze with her own. Her heart raced as he continued hesitantly, "I acted the way that I did because I wanted to help you improve as a journalist. I didn't think about the way I was making you feel." He set the fork down and laid his hands out on the table. "I was stupid."

Serena was paralyzed. She didn't even know how she wanted to respond. His confession left her feeling like he was standing in front of her naked, she felt almost shy by the vulnerability. His blue eyes burned sofly. Her heart started beating faster in her chest. She reached her hand out and laid it in his open palm.

"It's okay," She said, "I know you're a good guy."

He closed his fingers around hers, unexpectedly. Her heart skipped a beat. Tingles prickled under her skin when his lips relaxed into a small, slow smile.

"It means a lot to me… I'll try to show you more respect from now on."

Heat grew under Serena's cheeks. She wanted to pull her hand away. She was relieved when he let go, but her heart thudded against her chest when his skin broke contact with hers.

()()()()()()()()()

They were still staying in the little single bed hotel room. Serena looked at the tiny couch in the corner and said, "Maybe you should take the bed tonight." She surprised herself by the words that came out of her own mouth.

Darien stiffened. "No, I couldn't."

"I think you should." Serena chewed her thumbnail, "It's my fault anyways. I was the one who was supposed to book the rooms. It's not fair for you to sleep on the couch."

"That's really not necessary."

"Well…" Serena looked the bed over, "It's a big bed. What if we both slept in it."

Darien's posture went from stiff to rigid, "I'm not sure that would be more comfortable."

"I'm sure it would be." Serena gestured to the tiny sagging couch.

Darien paused, didn't say anything, eyed the bed, eyed the couch, looked over towards Serena and said, "Okay."

Serena's heart thumped hard against her chest.

She went into the bathroom to shower get changed into her pajamas. Her heart raced. Why did she just do that? What was she thinking? It's completely not normal to share a bed with your boss. She wondered if she could take it back without making it too awkward. Or maybe she could sneak off and sleep on the couch instead.

When she got back to the room, Darien had already fallen asleep on top of the blankets with the lights on. At least he had put his pajamas on before crashing. Serena tip-toed over to him and gently pulled a blanket over him.

She looked at his sleeping body in the bed. Butterflies tickled her stomach. Getting into the bed with him just felt _wrong_.

She dug her laptop out of her bag and sat down on the couch, deciding to just ignore the dilemma in favour of getting work done. Her fingers clicked on the keyboard and words began to appear on the screen. She wasn't looking at the clock. She didn't want to be aware of how late it was getting. Her eyes were so heavy. They started drooping. The screen went black. She felt her hands relax on the keyboard. Her breath slow.

Serena's eyes fluttered gently as she felt arms wrap around her body. She was being lifted, carried, laid down in a soft bed. She heard a click and the light shut off. The blankets rustled and shifted next to her. Her eyes closed as she fell back into sleep.

* * *

_AN: Thanks so much to everyone who is reading and enjoying my story. It really makes it more fun to write, knowing that other people are enjoying it too._


	4. That Moment

Serena opened her eyes. For a moment she was disorientated before she remembered that she was in the hotel room. Her eyes fell on the clock on the side table; 6:25. She let her head rest back onto the pillow, prepared to snooze for at least another twenty minutes.

Sleep gently tugged her consciousness away as she slid back into sleep. The beginnings of a dream had started to form when she felt the covers pull away from her. Her eyes shot open. She looked to the couch. Darien wasn't there. Of course he wasn't there. He was in the bed with her.

She was afraid to look over, at some point she had crossed her own comfort level, and it was probably at the same point that she decided it would be okay to share a bed with her boss. She decided to forget snoozing and sneak out of bed before he woke up. Exactly as she was thinking this, Darien rolled over, stretched his arm over her, and pulled her into his body.

Serena froze.

By his breathing she could tell that he was still asleep. He must have thought she was his girlfriend. The warmth of his body spread between them. She was so close to him that she could feel the muscles in his chest against her back. For a split second she didn't want to move.

Then she remembered that this was her boss. Her boss who had a girlfriend. Her boss who she hated. At least some of the time. She couldn't forget that this wasn't Darien. This was Mr. Shields.

She thought about coughing to wake him up, but then realized how awkward it would be if he were to wake up while spooning her. She certainly couldn't stay there, wrapped in his arms, held against his body, enjoying his touch.

She froze again, paralyzed by her own thoughts.

_Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. Screw it._

She threw his arm off and hurled herself out of the bed. That was one too many lines to cross. She could not, would not, let herself think about Darien Shields that way. No. No. No. No. No.

Somehow, through all this, he was still asleep. Serena went into the bathroom to get dressed and recompose herself, cursing her heart for beating so hard. When she was finished she looked herself up and down in the mirror. Her red skirt hit just above the knee, pinching in at the waist, complemented by a matching jacket and white blouse that hung slightly open above her chest. All in all, she couldn't look any better. She threw her reflection an accusatory look.

"Who are you trying to look so good for?" She scowled, doing up one more button on her blouse to cover any trace of cleavage.

Things were getting out of hand. She had to admit to herself that she liked laying in bed with him this morning. Really liked it. And she knew that she shouldn't.

"uughh" She groaned, slapping her palm into her forehead. One more day. She could get through one more day. Tonight they would drive home and that would be the end of this. He would go back to being an asshole and she could go back to hating him.

()()()()()()()()()

Serena managed to keep her distance from Darien, both mentally and physically. She didn't want to encourage any of the feelings she was having. It wasn't just that he was her boss or that he had a girlfriend. It was because despite having a good heart, he was a jerk, and Serena couldn't let herself fall for a jerk.

So it really annoyed her when he smiled and said, "Should we have dinner to celebrate this being over with?"

How would a normal person respond to this invitation?

"I um, I… " She looked into his eyes and swallowed. Maybe that was what was making this so difficult. He had one of those smiles that spread through his whole face. That was how he could go from stoney jerk one minute to leaving her flustered the next.

"So... ?" His smile melted into something more confused.

"Maybe we should just get going. It will be a long drive home."

"Well we'll have to eat dinner at some point. It will be faster if we don't have to stop."

"Right." She realized she had lost this one. "Then yeah, might as well eat before."

()()()()()()()()()

Darien seemed to already know the way to the restaurant and when they arrived, he gave the host his name.

"You made a reservation?" Serena asked with a raised eyebrow.

Darien looked down at her, "I guess it shouldn't surprise me that you wouldn't think of that. Have you ever planned for anything in your life?"

Serena's back arched, her face flushed. This was why she wouldn't let herself get emotionally involved with Darien Shields. "For your information, I _plan_ on smacking you if you say something like that to me again."

She should have expected he would laugh. He was such an idiot.

The host returned to tell them that their table was ready. As they followed, Darien put his hand on the small of her back to guide her. Tingles ran up her spine. Her breath caught in her throat. If he was an idiot then she was a mega idiot. She should not let him have this effect on her.

They sat down at the table. This was really the last thing that Serena wanted right now. She was both in intimate quarters with Darien and forced to subject herself to conversation with him. She couldn't imagine how horrible the car ride was going to be.

"You know, I've been thinking." He said without looking up from his menu, "I probably come off as a jerk."

Serena stared blankly.

He continued, eyes still scanning the menu, " ...but I should probably explain myself. I never wanted to make you feel bad about anything. I just want to see you be the best journalist that you can be. I harp on you because I see so much potential." He looked up to Serena's flabbergasted face and smiled, "I guess I suck at that stuff."

She blinked, shaking her head. All she could think to say was, "Yeah, you kind of do." Then she added, trying to keep from blushing "Thanks for believing in me."

Darien went back to his menu. Explosions were going off in her brain. She was just now realizing that she could deal with the asshole Mr. Shields. It was the sweet Darien that was dangerous.

()()()()()()()()()

Serena was relieved when it was time to get on the road. Strictly because she was terrified that if she let her guard down, she would actually enjoy herself and that would be a problem. Keeping on top of her emotions was getting exhausting.

They walked out to Darien's car and he opened the door for her to get in.

_Of course._

She wanted to roll her eyes at his annoying sappy-sweet chivalrousness. Did he think this was the sixteen hundreds or something?

"Thanks." She said as she got into the car, then immediately regretted it. She shouldn't be encouraging him.

He got into the drivers seat and pulled out of the parking lot. Serna exhaled a breath of relief. They still had a long car ride together, but she already felt like the trip was behind them. By the time they got back to the office, everything would go back to normal. She leaned her head against the window. The best thing that she could do now was fall asleep.

()()()()()()()()()

She opened her eyes when the car stopped. They were outside her apartment complex. In the glow of the headlights, she noticed how tightly Dariens hands were gripping the wheel.

"Oh good," He said when he noticed her sit up, "I wasn't sure the best way to wake you."

In her sleepy daze, Serena let her guard down and smiled. "Sorry, I guess I wasn't very good company for the drive."

Darien smiled, "Nah, you're much better company when you're sleeping. That way you're quiet."

Just then Serena remembered how she'd promised to hit him if he made another rude comment. She didn't have a second to digest the thought. Frustration took over and her hand struck out. Before she even realized what was happening, Darien wrapped his hand around her wrist, catching her strike in the air.

"Guess I deserved that." He smiled for a second, then his expression turned serious. He lowered her arm, but didn't let go of her wrist. She suddenly realized how close they were sitting. Then she noticed how slow and heavy Darien was breathing and how it matched her own breath. Oddly, the moment felt like saying goodnight at the end of a date. Then she realized, in a flash of horror, that it was because she was hoping he would kiss her.

* * *

_AN: Finally, eh? ;) Sorry to keep you all waiting. Thank you to everyone who has been reading and enjoying my story._


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